The Jonah in All of Us: Growing in God’s Love

“You are always and dearly loved by God! So robe yourself with virtues of God , since you have been divinely chosen to be holy. Be merciful as you endeavor to understand others, and be compassionate, showing kindness toward all. Be gentle and humble, unoffendable in your patience with others. Tolerate the weaknesses of those in the family of faith, forgiving one another in the same way you have been graciously forgiven by Jesus Christ. If you find fault with someone, release this same gift of forgiveness to them. For love is supreme and must flow through each of these virtues. Love becomes the mark of true maturity.”

— Colossians 3:12–14 (TPT)

Let's Dive In...

Have you ever wanted God to deal more harshly with someone than He did? Maybe you’ve been frustrated when grace seemed too generous or when forgiveness came too easily for someone who hurt you. Jonah’s story reminds us that God’s mercy doesn’t play favorites—and that growing mature in His love often means learning to rejoice when others receive what we, too, desperately need: grace (If you haven't done so in a while, I encourage you to read the 4 chapters of Jonah).

What if the parts of Jonah we dislike the most—his stubbornness, his resentment, his pride—are actually reflections of the places in our own hearts God wants to heal?

Reflecting Back...

I remember a time I held onto resentment toward someone who betrayed my trust. It was a huge disappointment and ‘let-down’. I wanted God to convict them and I felt justified in feeling that way. My prayers weren’t about mercy—they were about justice. Change them. Fix them. Bring them to repentance in a way I could see. But in that season, God began to show me how much my anger was really hurting me, not them. Like Jonah under his withered vine, I was sitting in the shade of my own bitterness. Only when I began praying for that person’s good did I feel freedom return. The same mercy that covered them... began to transform me.

Present Reflection

Jonah’s story is a mirror—one that forces us to face the stubborn, fearful, judgmental, and self-righteous parts of ourselves. His mission wasn’t just about saving Nineveh; it was about transforming Jonah.

Jonah didn’t run from the call to go to Ninevah because he doubted God’s power, but because he knew God’s compassion. The Ninevites were violent enemies of Israel. Maybe it was that he lost someone dear to him at the hands of the Ninevites. Jonah wanted justice, but God wanted redemption. When Jonah finally delivered the message, it seemed pretty hopeless—“Forty more days and Nineveh will be overthrown” (Jonah 3:4)—yet God’s mercy moved through those dry, almost boastful words of his.

The same mercy that pursued Jonah through the storm, down in the belly of the fish, now reached out to Nineveh through his obedience. Jonah’s problem wasn’t just disobedience—it was immaturity. He knew God’s word, but he hadn’t yet embraced or embodied God’s heart, God's nature, or character.

The Inward Struggle

When we nurse bitterness, resentment becomes a kind of self-inflicted wound. It isolates us, just as Jonah sat alone outside the city, angry at grace. Left unchecked, this inward anger turns to self-righteousness, comparison, or despair. We have to grasp that we are fearfully and wonderfully made, created in the image of God, fall madly in Love with the Savior, and in turn, we learn to love ourselves. Once we love God - and love who He made us to be, we then can... love our neighbors as ourselves. God's grace is perfect enough to cover us in our downfalls - and it's vast enough to cover those we hold resentment against.

The redemptive alternative to our bitterness and resentment is found in Philippians 2:3—“In humility value others above yourselves.” We mature in love when we turn outward—serving, forgiving, and releasing judgment. Grace becomes not just something we receive but something that flows through us. We accept His grace, and we freely give grace.

A Little of Jonah in us all...

Jonah isn’t the only one who struggled with snap judgement, years of misplaced anger, or resentment toward God’s mercy. Think of the older brother in Jesus’ parable of the prodigal son (Luke 15:25–32). He stayed home, did everything right, and still felt overlooked when grace was extended to his reckless sibling. Both Jonah and the older brother wanted fairness, not favor. But God doesn’t balance scales—He overflows cups.

“Be gentle and forbearing with one another and, if one has a difference (a grievance or complaint) against another, readily pardoning each other; even as the Lord has [freely] forgiven you, so must you also [forgive].” - ‭‭Colossians‬ ‭3‬:‭13‬ ‭AMPC‬‬

The Passion Translation says “Tolerate the weaknesses of those in the family of faith…” That isn’t saying welcome sin or make excuses for anyone to sin repeatedly, but to cover our brother or sisters struggles and weaknesses in love and grace. We are all actively being redeemed, we are not yet glorified.

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In both stories, God steps outside to reason with the angry heart. He doesn’t condemn; He invites. He doesn’t “write people off”.

The question to Jonah—“Should I not have concern for Nineveh?”—is the same question God asks us when we resist compassion.

Mental Wellness Insight

Spiritually and psychologically, unforgiveness creates cognitive and emotional dissonance—it divides the heart and clouds judgment. What attachment theorists call “ambivalent attachment” often mirrors our relationship with grace: we crave love yet withhold it from others.

Jonah’s anxiety and anger show what happens when our self-schema—our internal identity—is shaped more by pride than by mercy. Healing begins when we allow God’s compassion to rewrite our emotional patterns. The peace described in Colossians 3:15 (“Let your heart be always guided by the peace of the Anointed One”) represents integration—when the mind and spirit align under God’s love. THIS is why we Pursue Wholeness! So that our mind and spirit align properly in God's love and anointing.

Practical Tool for This Week

Exercise: “Trading the Vine for Vision”

• Reflect – Write down one person, group, or situation that still makes your heart tighten when you think of them.

  
  

• Release – Pray this simple prayer: “God, Your mercy is enough for them—and for me. Help me to see them through Your eyes.”

  
  

• Replace – Every time bitterness rises this week, speak Colossians 3:12 aloud: “I am dearly loved by God, and I will clothe myself with compassion.”

Example: If a coworker frustrates you, pause and silently say, “Lord, teach me to love them as You’ve loved me.” Over time, you’ll feel the peace of Christ begin to “rule in your heart” (Col. 3:15).

My Prayer

Lord, help me to grow up in Your love. Teach me to clothe myself with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience. Where I’ve been like Jonah—judgmental, resentful, fearful, or prideful—soften my heart. Let Your peace rule in me and Your Word dwell richly within me, so that my life reflects the maturity of Your love. Amen.